Wheel bearing grease on inside of rim (follow up)

[am_dew]

I noticed that I have wheel bearing grease all over the inside of one of my trailer rims. The trailer is single axle and has Bearing Buddies installed. Does this grease mess mean the rear seal is blown out or just that excess grease has leaked out? Recommendations?<br /><br />Thanks,<br />Bob

 

[EZLoader]

Re: Wheel bearing grease on inside of rim (follow up)

Could be one or both based on my readings. The Bearing Buddie site and related sites have mentioned that folks often overload the bearing buddies with too much grease and overstretch the spring. <br /><br />Here's what Bearing Buddies officially say about this: <br /><br /> http://www.bearingbuddy.com/faqs.htm#7 <br /><br />Or your trailer's inner seal could be bad or maybe not even a "marine" seal which is designed with a special double seal which keeps out water. <br /><br />I would clean it up, refill the Bearing Buddy no more than per manufacturer's specs and then see if it continues to leak out over time. If it does then the seal could be the problem. <br /> <br />The only way to really know is to pull and check it.

 

[north40]

Re: Wheel bearing grease on inside of rim (follow up)

Most likely caused by overgreasing. Chunk the bearing buddys and get a set of Red Eye caps. Much easier to tell when you have correct amount of grease.

 

[BillP]

Re: Wheel bearing grease on inside of rim (follow up)

What are red eye caps?

 

[am_dew]

Re: Wheel bearing grease on inside of rim (follow up)

I wondered the same thing. Here is a link:<br /><br /> http://www.kodiaktrailer.com/redswish/bearing_pro.htm

 

[rwidman]

Re: Wheel bearing grease on inside of rim (follow up)

I don't understand all the emphasis on keeping "positive pressure" (from the Bearing Buddy and Redeye advertizing) on trailer bearings. I have "Spindle Lube" axles where grease is pumped through a hole drilled in the axle and returns through the bearing to the end of the spindle. There is no way to "blow a seal" and since everything is full of grease, there is no way for water to get in. I've got about 9,000 miles and over a hundred launch/retrieve cycles without any problems. Repacking the bearings is as easy as pumping new grease in until all the old grease comes out and the new grease is visible. I jack the trailer and spin the wheel while doing this to get all the old grease out and to listen and feel for any problems.<br />

 

[craze1cars]

Re: Wheel bearing grease on inside of rim (follow up)

The system rwidman talks about is certainly superior to Bearing Buddies, but if your trailer doesn't have it when new, you have to replace the axle or at least the spindles to put it on. Dexter axles is big on this system, as are a few others.<br /><br />Bearing Buddies and all their copiers are just an inexpensive alternative for the rest of the trailers that were too cheap to put the spindle-lube axles on from the factory.<br /><br />Bear in mind though, that repacking the bearing by jacking, pumping, and spinning to get the old grease purged out does NOT supercede the need to periodically remove and visually inspect the bearing for pits and wear. Dexter's owners manual is very clear on this.

 

[Bert1]

Re: Wheel bearing grease on inside of rim (follow up)

I have the same system as that rwidman talks about and it has just developped a leak though the back seal, grease coming out and water coming in. So they do blow seals same as any other. Until I fix it, I simply repack once a month to ensure that I have good grease on the bearings.

 

[craze1cars]

Re: Wheel bearing grease on inside of rim (follow up)

Originally posted by Bert1:<br /> I have the same system as that rwidman talks about and.....they do blow seals same as any other.

I agree, and I've blown out the rear seals on my thru-hub setup more than once. I blame myself though...generally using a pneumatic grease gun with all that pressurized grease entering right next to the rear seal. Sometimes the pressure is too much and it splurts past the rubber. If you do it once, the seal is weakened forever. But if you go easy on 'em with a hand pump it shouldn't normally be a problem.

 

[imported_Curmudgeon]

Re: Wheel bearing grease on inside of rim (follow up)

Until I fix it, I simply repack once a month to ensure that I have good grease on the bearings.<br /><br />I must have missed something. How do you repack the bearings without removing the faulty seal ... and not fix it?

 

[rwidman]

Re: Wheel bearing grease on inside of rim (follow up)

I blame myself though...generally using a pneumatic grease gun with all that pressurized grease entering right next to the rear seal.

You're supposed to use a manual grease gun. <br /><br /><br />

I must have missed something. How do you repack the bearings without removing the faulty seal ... and not fix it?

When you add grease through the fitting it goes to the back and then to the front through the bearing (look at the diagram above). Adding enough grease "repacks" the bearings. Of course if the seal is completely blown, much of the grease will come out the back.<br /><br />The Spindle Lube system does not pressurize the grease or seal in normal operation so any "blown" seals are either from improper filling or some unrelated cause. If you somehow manage to get any pressure in the system, the rubber cap will let it out or in extreme cases, it will fall off. This happened to me when my brakes hung up and overheated. The grease heated and expanded and blew the rubber cap off. No damage to the seal.

 

[craze1cars]

Re: Wheel bearing grease on inside of rim (follow up)

Originally posted by Old Curmudgeon:<br /> Until I fix it, I simply repack once a month to ensure that I have good grease on the bearings.<br /><br />I must have missed something. How do you repack the bearings without removing the faulty seal ... and not fix it?

That's the while point of a thru-hub system, it allows repacking your bearings with nothing more than a grease gun and a wad of paper towels to pick up the mess of old grease that comes out at ya while you're pumping. It's a beautiful system that allows you to repack in about 3 minutes with little or no effort.<br /><br />But as Mr. rwidman states, use a manual grease gun...lazy old farts like me who just wanna pull the trigger on a pneumatic will have to buy new rear seals...

 

[Elmer Fudge]

Re: Wheel bearing grease on inside of rim (follow up)

Originally posted by north40:<br /> Most likely caused by overgreasing. Chunk the bearing buddys and get a set of Red Eye caps. Much easier to tell when you have correct amount of grease.

What are Red Eye caps?

 

[rwidman]

Re: Wheel bearing grease on inside of rim (follow up)

A different brand of bearing protectors. Much like "Bearing Buddies".

 

[am_dew]

Re: Wheel bearing grease on inside of rim (follow up)

After cleaning the inside of the rim and filling the hubs with a few pumps of grease I took the boat out last week. It was about a 40 mile round trip between my house and the lake I went to, and when I got back there was grease on the inside of the rim again. <br /><br />So, today a buddy of mine and I tore down the leaking wheel. I did not find anything obviously unusual...the races and bearings looked good and the rear seal looked good but I did replace it none the less. The new seal was not as thick as the old one, maybe 2/3 of the old one, but the guy at Napa Auto assured me that only the outside and inside diameters of the seal were important. I installed the new seal,making sure it was flush with the rear of the hub, and put together the rest of the bearing assembly and this is where I now have an issue...<br /><br />The hub would not go as far onto the spindle as far as I am almost positive it was on before I took it all apart. There is about 1/3 inch between the rear of the hub and the axle, whereas on the other wheel on the trailer there is very little space between the hub and the axle.<br /><br />I guess I should take it all apart again and double check to make sure that everything is in the right position. Also, I read something about tightening the axle nut pretty tight while spinning the hub in a clockwise direction. I'm not sure this was done...would this cause this extra space?<br /><br />Any suggestions?<br /><br />Thanks!

 

[rwidman]

Re: Wheel bearing grease on inside of rim (follow up)

You didn't mix the bearings and put the inside on the outside, etc did you?<br /><br />Don't drive it at all until you find the problem, you could damage the spindle or axle as well as the bearings.<br /><br />Use the assembly on the other side of the trailer as an example, they should look and measure the same.<br /><br />Tightening the nut while spinning the hub is called "pre loading" the bearings. Make sure they are installed correctly before you do this. Tighten with pliers, then back the nut off and retighten to "finger tight".

 

[jtexas]

Re: Wheel bearing grease on inside of rim (follow up)

If it's a single-axle without brakes the inner & outer bearings are probably the same size in which case it shouldn't affect how far onto the spindle it goes. <br /><br />But the bearings & races wear down together as a set so should be reinstalled back to where they were before.<br /><br />The seal shouldn't make any difference on how far onto the spindle it goes, either. Mine has way more than 1/3 of an inch, but yours ought to look the same as it did before you took the old seal off.<br /><br />I agree with rwidman, tighten it down good, then back it off. If you've driven it at all yet, I'd take the hub off & have a look at those bearings, just to be on the safe side. <br /><br />I have only just discovered that I have a leaky seal and the reason is because when I installed it I wasn't careful enough to get it in straight, it's just the tiniest bit off, but note the importance of getting it exactly straight.<br /><br />That also seems to make the bearing buddy want to come off - I lost one & almost lost the replacement; hopefully a new properly installed seal will resolve that.<br /><br />Another thing not mentioned yet in this thread which you may already know: if there's any discoloration on the spindle where it meets the seal, get some emory cloth & polish it clean.<br /><br />let us know how it comes out.

 

[am_dew]

Re: Wheel bearing grease on inside of rim (follow up)

Thanks rwidman. I just took the wheel off, disassembled the hub and bearings and looked at everything very closely. Before I did that though, I checked to be sure the tire spun freely and did not have any wobble...all was fine.<br /><br />

Originally posted by rwidman:<br /> You didn't mix the bearings and put the inside on the outside, etc did you?

I found that both front and rear bearings are identical in size and shape and there is no way the rear bearing can sit anywhere else but inside the rear race and oriented with the smaller side towards the inside of the hub. It's a very simple setup where things can only assemble and fit one way.<br /><br />So, my conclusion is that everything was OK and it must have been like this before we broke it all down yesterday, and the other wheel must have different bearings in it or something that is allowing that hub to mount further onto the spindle. <br /><br />But I will surely be stopping frequently on my next trip to check things and have some tools handy, just in case.

 

[am_dew]

Re: Wheel bearing grease on inside of rim (follow up)

Thanks jtexas. Here is a pic of the inside section of the spindle looking from the outside of the trailer's wheel well. The larger round part is what the rear bearing butts up against and the rear seal fits over....not against the square part but the round section in front of the square part. Shall I polish the actual spindle and this larger round section? As you can see, there is quite a bit of discoloration everywhere. Thanks!<br /><br />

 

[rwidman]

Re: Wheel bearing grease on inside of rim (follow up)

But I will surely be stopping frequently on my next trip to check things and have some tools handy, just in case.<br />

Whenever I do any serious work on the trailer I take it out for a test drive before I take a boating trip. Better to find a problem on a test ride and you can stay close to home.